Barr's belated paring gift to the victims of Lockerbie
AFTER THREE DECADES ON THE CASE, THE OUTGOING US ATTORNEY GENERAL FINALLY OPENS THE DOOR TO TRUE JUSTICE
IT WAS a Christmas atrocity, the likes of which had never been seen. Aboard Pan Am flight 103, the mood would have been buoyant as passengers and crew anticipated being reunited with their families and friends for the holidays.
Across the Atlantic, their relatives waited with the same expectant joy.
But as the Boeing 747 flew at 31,000ft above the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, those on board and those down below would become entwined forever in the most heinous of acts.
The Lockerbie bombing, in December 1988, took the lives of all 259 travelling, including 189 Americans, and 11 on the ground and remains the single worst act of terror carried out in the UK.
Yet 32 years on, the families of the victims have yet to receive the justice they deserve.
Although Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted for bringing down the plane, dozens of others involved in the plot have not been caught.
In many ways, Al Megrahi’s trial was woefully misguided as it failed to charge others who ordered the bombing, including top Libyan officials.
His conviction in 2001 did little for the grieving families.
More hurtfully, eight years later, he was released on compassionate
grounds after being diagnosed with cancer. He went on to live for three more years despite being “terminally” ill.
During Megrahi’s trial, the most glaring omission in the dock was that of the Libyan government – part of the Lockerbie case all along.
It took seven years of United Nations’ sanctions to persuade the then Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, to turn the suspects over for trial.
Yet, with the conviction of Megrahi, a Libyan official who travelled on an official passport,
Tripoli showed it was complicit in the attack.
The bombing was not the work of a lone man. Megrahi was not responsible for devising the plan, acquiring the explosives’ parts, assembling the bomb, and placing it on the plane alone. Other guilty people have died in freedom or are still roaming around today.
But this week, after three decades of Christmases destroyed by grief, the victims’ families were finally given a renewed sense of hope.
America charged one of the men they believe built the device that blew up the jet.
Driven by outgoing US Attorney General William Barr, the States is now seeking to extradite alleged bomb-maker Abu Agila Masud, hoping to place him on trial in Washington DC.
This is long overdue.
We are not talking about missed parking tickets, we are talking about killing 270 men, women, and children.
Numerous theories have emerged since 1988, implicating various other potential wrongdoers, from Syria and Iran to militant Palestinian liberation groups.
And while they may cast doubt on Megrahi’s conviction, there is no doubt the British and American governments have failed so far to bring those responsible to justice.
The fall of Gaddafi, some nine years ago, should have given both governments the chance to gather evidence and find their suspects, but only now have there been any new developments.
The question is why?
Barr’s announcement on Monday smacks somewhat of US grandstanding, given his 30-year involvement in the case and how, just two days after he revealed the new charges, he stepped down from his post.
Why exactly has he waited until the end of his second stint as Attorney General to reach this point?
The victims deserve to have justice. More so, the relatives of those who perished should not die without knowing the truth.
There could be no greater gift the long-suffering families could receive than to have those responsible put where they belong.
Megrahi (pictured right) was not responsible for devising the plan, acquiring the explosives’ parts, assembling the bomb, and placing it on the plane alone. Other guilty people have died in freedom or are still roaming around today.